Field of the Invention
At least since Parker Bros. brought Monopoly.RTM. to the public, there has been a fascination with board games, and particular those games which tend to simulate human experience. Whether the game is high finance, or a sporting event, the board game becomes the player's fantasy, and the successful games are those that permit the player to step outside himself or herself and for a few precious moments, become someone, or something, which would not otherwise be possible in the real world.
Football, at least in the United States, is a high profile sport which millions watch, some with a passion, while only a limited few can actually play. There is a strategy to the game which has been chronicled in enough books to fill a small library. There are movies, highlight films, training films and videos of every description, all of which have as a goal, putting the viewer in the middle of the action.
Overview of the Prior Art
Games are a release for most, and football games abound, because it is the consummate spectator sport in the United Sates, and because so many who watch, dream of playing.
Existing simulation "football" games come in a variety of forms ranging from pinball machines to miniature computerized versions, most of which require auxiliary devices, for example, television monitors, to play the game.
Board games will always be popular in that they tend to involve more people, and tend not to require any particular physical skills or coordination to play.
Some games which use a board also require batteries or some electrical hookup. Such games are outside the scope of the present invention. Still others may pretend to simulate a game such as football, they are, in reality, nothing more than a dart game, for example, and Sheen U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,325 is exemplary of the pretenders.
Godwin U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,346 is exemplary of the type of board game to which the present invention pertains, and over which it is a quantum leap, in strategy, fun, and to a very limited extent, a modicum of physical skill. In Godwin, as in most board type games, whether or not football related, the common demoninator is to roll the dice, move a game piece, or turn a card. While the present invention has those features, they are combined in a unique array of options, and there is more, as a reading of the detailed description presented hereinafter will make abundantly clear.